The conference office announced Wednesday that true freshman Jazleen Malherek-Osorio has been named the Big Ten’s Women’s Cross Country Freshman of the Week for the first time. The honor comes after her performance at the Sean Earl Loyola Lakefront Invitational, where she was the top Big Ten freshman finisher and helped Minnesota finish second as a team.
Malherek-Osorio, a Wayzata high school graduate, clocked a time of 20:06.7 to finish 32nd overall in Chicago on Sept. 25. The true freshman was the fourth finisher among the Gopher lineup that finished with 112 team points to finish second overall. The Maroon and Gold finished behind now No. 15 Virginia and ahead of now No. 21 Northwestern. With the performance of Malherek-Osorio, the Gophers moved from No. 24 nationally in the USTFCCCA national rankings to No. 18. The No. 18 ranking for Minnesota’s women’s cross country is tied for the best team ranking since 2021 (No. 5).
For Malherek-Osorio, the honor is her first weekly award this season from the Big Ten. The weekly honor is the second for Minnesota’s women this season, with Malherek-Osorio joining Ali Weimer from earlier this season.
(info courtesy of Gopher Sports)
